Three bands with ties to Iowa City will perform Friday in an intimate show at The Mill Restaurant.

Members of the three bands — The Western Front, Dewi Sant and The Lonelyhearts — have worked together and consider each other friends, making for a unique atmosphere at the performance, Dewi Sant frontman Michael Morris said.

“I think it is a completely different experience when you have three bands that are friends with each other and really big supporters of one another,” he said. “It creates an energy and a reality that it’s our show ... it’s kind of like a holiday get-together.”

He said that positive, excited energy will transfer to the audience, making for a better show.

The Western Front front man Drew Fischels said Iowa City’s “healthy” local music community scene it easy to make music and collaborate with other musicians.

“It’s big enough where you’ll find quite a few bands and small enough where most of the people know each other and there is a lot of camaraderie,” he said.

Over the years, the three bands have played, written and arranged new works together.

“Since all of the bands happened to be available at this time, it made a lot of sense for them to play together,” said Andre Perry, the talent buyer for the Mill and half of the group The Lonelyhearts.

While each of the bands is local, their sounds are quite unique. The Western Front tends to have an electric rock-type sound, while Dewi Sant ranges from pure folk to orchestral indie rock. The Lonelyhearts are a minimalist group — just two members — that mixes folk lyrics with a synth-heavy sound.

In an email to the Press-Citizen, Perry said local artists add to Iowa City’s unique culture.

“It’s great to have national artists come through town, but the local artists are the ones who define our scene,” Perry said. “We need local writers, musicians, visual artists and theater groups — or else we just become a pass-through town with no identity of its own.”